Sparkle Precure
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: The Loveless have appeared on Earth, ready to wipe out all love and transform it in to hate. Pearl, sent from another world to prevent this, seeks out the legendary Precure, but what she finds is not quite what she hoped for- a fractured team at best, with a leader who can't be honest with herself. Can this troubled team be made to work? And what secrets do the Loveless hide?
1. A Girl in Love is the Strongest!

Author's Note: Oh wait, what's this, is this a Precure fanseries? Oh it is! How about that, where did that come from. Sparkle Precure has been a fan series that has been in the works for the better part of the year, and I have just now gotten around to finishing the first chapter of it. Basic introduction chapter smell all on it, mmhmm. Sorry for y'all waiting for updates for my Danny Phantom or Detective Conan fics, but seeing as how I've been meaning to write this for several months, I think it story of has priority.

Feels weird technically uploading a fanseries that only has base connections to the Precure canon on , but that's what everybody does, and since DA is a pain about file formats, I guess I'm left without a whole lot of choices, huh?

The concept of Precure does not belong to me- however, this story, and all characters within, do.

* * *

Sparkle Precure

Episode One

A Girl in Love is the Strongest! The Birth of a New Precure!

* * *

It was a clear night, with a sky empty of the moon, that made the connection between worlds possible. In a hushed, quiet voice, a young girl received her orders, her face concealed by a dark blue cloak. They spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to be overheard, and not daring a light as they ventured forth, leaving the magnificent palace behind them. Slipping past the guards on patrol was not hard when you knew the layout of the palace like the back of your hand, they found. The girl in the blue cloak paused on the outskirts, casting one last long glance back at the palace that towered behind them.

It might be the last time she saw it for quite some time.

But she had her orders, and they were orders that needed to be carried out in haste. She was to seek out and find the eight legendary warriors, the Pretty Cure, on a planet called 'Earth'. There was a threat approaching, a great threat that was approaching both them and the wonderful kingdom in which she lived.

When they reached the place of magic, the secret place that linked the two worlds, it was a silent and quick job to bring the portal to life. There was no time for words, it must be done quickly, for surely someone would have seen the light that it emitted. The blue cloaked girl paused only briefly to exchange an embrace with the other girl beside her, before she took a deep breath and jumped through, into the glimmering sea of light.

* * *

"You look like you've had a long day, Kobayashi."

"You do remember what class I have for last period, right?" The female teacher grunted, peering up at her coworker, who was offering her a cup of tea. "Thank you." She took the tea cup from him, taking a long draught from it, ignoring the fact that it was nearly boiling hot. "They're fighting again. I couldn't even finish my lesson today because of it."

She heaved a sigh, setting down the cup on her desk. "And normally, Ui-san is _such _a good student, but when it comes to _Iemochi _he just loses his head entirely. Iemochi, of course, is another case entirely. To be honest, I'm not sure I can blame Ui-san for being frustrated with her." She said, rolling her eyes, opening her desk drawer and pulling out a bottle of painkillers.

"I know, they were in my class last year." Her coworker chuckled, shaking his head. "I understand what it's like to step in the middle of that firestorm."

The two students in question, as it happened, were still at it, although the school bell had rung, signaling the end of the school day. Some of their classmates lingered, the novelty of their fighting having not quite worn off yet, but most of them got out of there as fast as they could, before one of them started throwing things, heedless of any innocent bystanders.

The two people in question were Naiya Iemochi and Hirata Ui, a pair of senior students at Shiroyama High School, both seventeen years old and both very much at each other's throats at the moment. They were nearly nose to nose, spouting off some rather choice insults, accusations of being a 'girly boy' and a 'brash witch' being cast out, among others.

The 'girly boy' in question, was Hirata Ui, and it was not entirely a nickname that didn't suit him. A bit short and rather scrawny for a boy, his shaggy mess of dark brown hair was only kept out of his mahogany eyes by two pairs of silver hair clips, so it wasn't that hard to see where the choice of nickname came from. Aside from his feminine appearance, one thing that stood out about him most were the bandages wrapped around his hands, not due to injury, but for sport. He was a member of the boxing club, in spite of his looks, and was actually known for having quite a bit of skill at it, though most didn't believe him until they saw it (or felt it, as the case may be) for themselves.

The so-called 'brash witch', was Naiya Iemochi, who was known throughout the school for being just that- a rather unpleasant and often downright mean girl who had no real friends, who bullied those weaker than her. Most often, she bullied and harassed Hirata and everyone else was just sort of glad that it wasn't them she had set her sights on. She was taller than Hirata by exactly an inch, a fact which she lorded over him for most of their high school life. Her shortly cropped hair was dyed blonde, kept clear of her dark brown eyes. She wore the school uniform without the usual striped tie, which was another thing teachers gave her no end of grief about.

The other thing, was of course, being a rather mean-spirited bully.

"Well I don't know _why _anyone would ever even think about going with you, Hirata-_chan_~" She taunted, leaning back and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Hah! It's laughable to think that the girl who shows up at the boxing club every so often would _ever _have eyes for you. Have you even looked at yourself in a mirror lately? The only way she could be attracted to you was if she was a lesbian who mistook you for a girl! There's no way a girl would want a man more womanly than her."

"Yeah well, then why would she keep bringing me clean sports towels all the time? And she turns red when I'm around too!" Hirata shot back, pounding his hand on the desk that split the two, the only physical barrier keeping them from actively going after each other throat's. "She even brought me lunch one afternoon!" He told her, putting his hands on his hips, a smug look, crossing his face. "What do you call _that?"_

"A gag worthy high school manga cliche." Naiya retorted, not looking impressed. "You're just going to find your little girly boy heart shattered into a bunch of pieces, and when it does, I'll be right there to laugh as you try to scoop up the mess." She told him, letting out a chuckle. "She's probably going to confess to you that her poor dear mother needs surgery and she doesn't have the money for it, and then she'll suck you dry for every penny like the sap you are."

"Takahashi-san is not that kind of girl!" Hirata yelled back.

"Hah, how would you know?" Naiya asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You've never even met her on anything but her own terms. Probably underneath that sugary sweet exterior, she's a horrendous bitch."

"Yeah, well, maybe that's better than a _certain _somebody who is all bitch, one hundred percent of the time." Hirata shot back, glowering at his longtime tormenter. Just once,_ just once!_ He would have liked to have class without her, but no- Naiya seemed to have been following him ever since the third grade. Not only were they always in the same class, but as if some gravitational force dictated it, she was always in the seat _right behind him_ as well. He couldn't even distance himself from her.

"Oh, are you implying that's me?" Naiya asked, letting out a sharp laugh. "That's real cute, Hirata-chan. As if my heart would be so wounded by your precious little words, what a thought!" She laughed again, reaching out to mockingly pet his head, a smug look appearing on her face. "It's real hard to take a boy seriously when you can see over the top of his head."

Hirata smacked her hand off his head, stepping back and putting some distance between them. "It's just _one inch."_ He hissed, pointing at her. "It's not a big deal."

"And it's one inch that you'll never have." Naiya smirked. "If it's not such a big deal, Hirata-chan, why do you always get so upset about it?"

"_Argh_!" Hirata threw up his hands, ready to tear out his hair at this point. "Look, just... no you know what? I'm _done _for today. I'm not taking anymore of this." He told her, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, still glowering at Naiya, unwilling to take his eyes off of her lest she try anything. "I have club." He told her coldly, before heading for the door.

He paused just at the door, looking back at her for a long moment, a hard look in his eyes. "At least I'll know what it feels like to have someone fall in love with me. I can't imagine anyone liking a girl like you, Iemochi. They'd have to be crazy." He told her, before he slid the door shut with a loud bang behind him.

* * *

"Honey, how was sc-" Emi Iemochi could barely get the word out before her daughter stormed upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her so hard that she could have sworn the whole house had just vibrated. "Ah, I see." She frowned, a worried look, though one tinged with understanding, crossed her face. "Not very well then. Dear!" She called out to her husband, sauntering into the kitchen. "Naiya's in a bad mood, dear, let's make sure to make all of her favorites! That always cheers her up."

Arata Iemochi glanced up from his newspaper, setting down a cup of coffee. "A bad day, hm? Do you think it was that Hirata boy again?" He asked, standing up, shifting his gaze off to the side, wondering if he should do something about that boy. He was a tall man, a fact made even clearer by the fact that his wife was rather petite. It was fairly clear that his daughter had taken most of her looks from him, rather than the rather maidenly Emi, who was all a mess of bright, curly hair, compared to her husband's neatly groomed appearance.

"Oh come off it, honey." Emi scolded him lightly, looking cross with her husband. Although Naiya got her looks from her father, it would appear that she got her ability to glower and threaten from her mother. "That boy has no idea he's doing anything wrong. He just thinks he's defending himself. Why, if anything, our daughter is to blame for it." She reminded him, heaving a sigh. "If only she could do something about that exterior personality of hers. Maybe if we'd socialized her more when she was a child, this wouldn't have happened."

"Ah, Emi, that's hardly something-" He was cut off by a loud banging noise from upstairs, and he frowned. "She's banging her head against the wall again. It must have been a very bad day indeed. Are you sure I can't just...?" He trailed off upon meeting his wife's hard stare. "Not even a _little_?" He asked her.

"No means no, dear." Emi said lightly. "If she bangs her head on the wall more than ten times in a row though, go up and stop her."

* * *

It was not a needed thing to do, thankfully, as Naiya groaned and slumped down against the wall after the first three head butts, a red spot appearing on her forehead where it had struck wall. "I am literally the dumbest girl in the world." She said aloud, pulling her knees up to her chest, and placing her head in them, letting out another low moan. Her school bag lay half forgotten in the middle of her room, and she could hardly even think about getting started on the homework that she had to do for tomorrow, not when her thoughts were all mixed up like this.

To be fair, it was entirely her own fault. She wasn't normally this bad either, she thought, but something about hearing that there was a girl who might have her eyes on Hirata set off a spark in her, that vicious flame some people might call 'jealousy'.

It wasn't that she hated Hirata, on the contrary, it was quite the opposite in fact. She was head over heels for the boy, and had been ever since she met him for the first time back in third grade. That feeling hadn't changed at all since then, if anything, it had only grown. The other thing, sadly, that hadn't changed, was how she treated him, in spite of her best efforts to do otherwise. It seemed like any time she tried to go out of her way to be nicer to him, instead, she would just end up saying meaner things to him than she ever had before.

"I am a terrible, stupid person." She groaned, flopping over on her side, and turning over on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "How hard can it be, _really_, to treat the guy you're in love with, with some basic human decency? Everybody else seems to do it just fine, so why can't I?" She asked to her ceiling, as if it somehow held the answers to her questions.

But of course it didn't, ceilings didn't talk, much less answer deep questions.

Or for treating _anyone _with basic human decency, she thought glumly to herself, putting her hands over her face, shutting her eyes. She wasn't very good at that either. After a few moments of silence, she kicked her feet against the floor in frustration, letting out a loud scream of annoyance. "This is stupid!" She said, bolting to her feet. "_I'm_ stupid!" She said aloud, heading over towards her window and hoping on her bed. Shoving the window open, she took in a deep breath, and yelled out it.

"I'm a stupid, dishonest girl~!" She shouted, eliciting the usual responses from her neighbors, who despite being used to these sudden outbursts from the Iemochi girl, were nonetheless still rather annoyed by them. Sheepishly, she turned bright red, quickly shutting the window and closing her curtains, slumping down against it once she had done so.

It was a problem, a problem that Naiya had been facing for most of her life, in spite of her best efforts to fix it. Really, it had been her attempts at fixing her original shy and meek personality in the first place that had lead to this problem, and every attempt at improving herself only made it worse, made her more dishonest with her feelings. Her frontal personality was sour and rude, and drove people off without really meaning to or wanting to. Her frontal personality started meaningless fights, and picked on people she wanted to compliment. And worst of all, her frontal personality was mean and cruel to the boy she was completely and utterly in love with.

So perhaps it was hearing that there was another girl poised to take Hirata away from her that triggered today's fight. Surely a demure and lovely young girl, who made lunches, _lunches!_ For her object of affection was way more attractive to boys than someone like Hirata, who was far more likely to punch them in the face for sneezing in her vicinity than to offer them a spare handkerchief or a tissue.

No, Naiya was not exactly the kind of girl the boys went crazy over. She had seen this 'Takahashi-san' before, and she was the kind, a cute, petite girl with curly hair, and bright eyes, everything about her screaming '_adorable_' at the top of it's lungs. Meanwhile, Naiya was a rude, surly tomboy who didn't get along with people and didn't seem to even like dealing with them. She hadn't had a single friend since she had started school, everyone having been chased off by her harsh frontal personality.

And she had tried!

She had tried so hard to fix the problem, to make things work, to make friends, to tell Hirata her true feelings about him. And now she was in her senior year of high school, and was running out of chances.

Heaving a sigh, Naiya turned around, pulling open her curtains and opening her window once more. She perched her elbows against the window frame, and then plopped her chin in them, watching as the sun began to set in the distance. Well, if nothing else, the fates had granted her the perfect view of a sunset over her hometown, Shiroyama City. Even the cranes that now dotted the background, signaling some new construction project was going on, couldn't ruin the view that she had from her window. Watching the sunset helped calm her down, at least a little.

It was a peaceful, quiet moment of tranquility when she could forget everything, forget all of her problems, and just admire the beauty of nature.

"Hm?" Naiya blinked, lifting her head a little, and frowning. "Is that a shooting star? Before nightfall?" She asked out loud. No, but it _was_, a bright streak of light shooting across the sky, noticeable even in the daylight. Naiya's eyes brightened upon spotting it, and she quickly shut them, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Oh shooting star, please do something to fix this awful, twisted frontal personality of mine! I wish I could be a more honest person!" She wished.

Wait, was that screaming?

Peeking an eye open, the other quickly shot open to join it when Naiya realized that what she was wishing on was not a shooting star- but rather a flying, falling object from the sky, that at the moment appeared to be headed straight towards her face. Thinking quickly, Naiya flattened herself against her bed, the faux shooting star passing just by her and coming to a halt on her door, creating a loud bang. Downstairs, her parents shrugged it off as their daughter banging her head against the wall again, and went back about their business.

More than a little bit frazzled, Naiya simply lay there for a moment, as if trying to process exactly what was going on. Had something just flown into her window from the sky? Something that was screaming, she thought. Pushing herself up, first casting a wary eye towards the sky for any more incoming projectiles, she turned her attention towards whatever it was that had flown into her room.

"No, that landing was no good either!" The small creature whined, shaking it's head. It appeared to be largely undamaged from it's high speed collision with her door, and it also was apparently a platypus.

A platypus that could talk.

A platypus that could talk and was completely white.

And wore a string of pearls around it's neck.

Seeing that someone was in the room, and looking quite wide eyed and more than a little frightened at the sight of her, the small white platypus started. "Oh, sorry about that! My landings are a little bit rusty since I'm not quite used to this body yet!" It confessed to her.

"Y-you're a platypus." Naiya pointed out, her own words sounding rather dumb to her ears.

"Well, yes." The platypus said. "At the moment, at least. My name is Pearl! And seeing that you can see me, you must be the person that I've been seeking out! Or one of them, at least." It all but chirped, seeming excited at this news as it closed the distance between the two of them. "Please do not be alarmed or afraid, I don't mean to harm you!"

"Okay, _Pearl_." Naiya said slowly, in such a state of shock that she apparently forgot to put up her front entirely. "Who- I mean, what are you, and why are you in my room? And what do you want from me?"

"I have come from a distant, magical kingdom!" Pearl told her, jumping up to settle upon a chair. "I am on a quest to find and awaken the legendary warriors, the Pretty Cure so that they can battle against a great evil that seeks to harm the Earth!" She declared. "And you, young girl, whose name I have not quite gotten yet..."

"Naiya Iemochi." She supplied meekly.

"Naiya!" Pearl chirped, an expression that must have been a grin appearing on the platypus' face. "You are one of those brave, chosen warriors, who will fight for love and justice against the darkness!" She told her, looking proud. "It is a great honor!"

"Oh." Naiya said shortly. "Oh, okay, I think I realize what's going on here." She said after a moment. "Right. This is a figment of my imagination, and I am talking to it. And it's a platypus. I am talking to an imaginary talking platypus. Okay."

"I assure you, I am not imaginary!" Pearl protested.

"Nope, no, _nope_, that's exactly what a figment of my imagination would say if I accused it of being a figment of my imagination." Naiya said, getting off her bed, and lifting up the covers, flopping down underneath it. "And I am going to go to bed and sleep off this strangeness until this talking figment of my imagination goes away and I am no longer a crazy person."

"Naiya!" Pearl whined. "Come on, listen to me, this is important! The fate of the world lies in the balance!" She told her. "Also I don't think that's how insanity even _works_." She couldn't help but point out.

"Nope, not having it, going to sleep." Naiya said, covering her face with her sheets, and rolling away from Pearl. "There are no flying, talking platypus in my room because magical platypus do not exist! And they most certainly do not wear pearls!" She said.

Pearl grumbled, but seemed to realize that there was no dealing with her for the moment. "Alright, I see what you're trying to do." Pearl said. "But I'll be back, because I am not a figment of your imagination! Give it a few days and you'll find out the truth the hard way. But, because I am nice person, I will leave you this special item, and I advise you to keep it with you at all times, in the event that danger should arise!"

After a few moments of silence, Naiya turned back over and peeked out of the covers, only to see that Pearl was gone. "See?" Naiya said, getting up. "I _knew _that was a figment of my imagination." She said, sounding rather triumphant, before frowning again. "No wait, that's not exactly a good thing. And why the hell did I, of all things, imagine up a talking platypus? What's the sense in _that_? At least it was a _stylish _platypus."

Naiya paused mid-rant however, upon seeing an item on her desk that had surely not been there before. Briefly, she thought one of her parents might have left it there for her, but no, they would have given her something like this directly. Frowning, she picked it up, finding it to be a necklace of some sort. It was a gold, four pointed star shaped pendent, with what appeared to be some kind of- she sucked in her breath, taking a closer look at the gem set in the center of the star. "Is that a _diamond?"_ She asked, holding it up to the light.

Well, if all of her figments of imagination dropped cool stuff like this, then maybe they weren't so bad after all.

_Then again_, Naiya thought, as she felt the cool metal in her hands, _maybe the fact that my so-called figment of imagination dropped some serious and quite __**real **__booty is in fact an indication that it might have not __**been **__a figment of my imagination?  
_

* * *

Well, thinking it over last night hadn't done Naiya much good, and the strange creature had not reappeared, even after she had called out for it. She was starting to think that she was crazy, this theory only hampered by the fact that she had shown the necklace to her mother, who had taken it in her own hands and admired it, before handing it back to Naiya, which meant the necklace at least, was very real indeed. She was half tempted to take it somewhere to have the possible diamond in it evaluated, to find out if it was really _real_ and not just some kind of crystal instead.

Whatever the case, she had decided to wear it to school that day, tucked inside of her school uniform. If someone caught a glimpse of it, she thought, they might get the wrong idea, and she would hate to find out what stupid things she would blather out to cover up the truth. Not that she would even tell anyone about this truth, this being one thing she probably shouldn't be honest about. After all, if you claimed you had gotten a necklace with a real diamond in it from a magical talking platypus that had all but fallen from the sky, people would think you were crazy.

"Well, it is kind of pretty." She mumbled to herself as she weaved through the narrow streets of the back alley that connected her neighborhood to the local shopping center. A short cut to school, since she had spent so much time pondering over her strange encounter last night that she hadn't drifted off to sleep until late, and as a consequence, had overslept a little that morning.

Well, with _her _reputation, what harm could one tardy on her record possibly do to her?

"Ugh." Naiya grimaced, stepping out into the shopping center. She noticed something quite odd as she did so, and frowned, unable to place it for a moment. Quickly though, she realized what it was- the usually bustling shopping center was eerily quiet, as if there was nobody there. Frowning, she turned to look towards the shops, finding the shutters all drawn- and it didn't take her very long to realize _why_.

Honestly, Naiya wasn't exactly sure how she had missed the giant monster in the first place. She must have been more lost in thought than she had realized.

It was somewhat snake like in appearance, a long, coiled thing, with white scales and two rings of dark blue around it's head and the bottom of it's tail. There appeared to be some kind of indention in it's head, though she couldn't quite make out what it was. But a closer look at the so called 'scales' actually revealed them to be some kind of fluffy fabric, and Naiya tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "Wait, is that a giant sports towel?" She asked.

"It's a Dark Gem Monster!" A familiar voice spoke up, and as if from nowhere, Pearl walked out from the back alley that Naiya had just been inside of. "It's created by Dark Gem Jewelry, by the Loveless!" The talking platypus informed her.

"Okay that was just a lot of really unhelpful terms I am not familiar with." Naiya pointed out. "I am not sure if that suffices as an explanation."

The time for questions was over before it had even really begun, however, when the snake-like giant sports towel monster _thing _spotted them, and hissed, making a strange sound. Panicking a little, Naiya scooped up Pearl and made a break for it.

"What are you doing, Naiya?!" Pearl protested. "You have to go back and fight it!" She told her. "You're a legendary Precure!" The tiny platypus said. "Only you have the power to face it!"

"Un-unh, forget it." Naiya shook her head. "I'm not fighting that thing. The only thing I would do is die. Die real good." Naiya said. "Running is better, running is good."

"But if it's not purified by a Precure, then the person inside will fall into darkness!" Pearl protested, her words causing Naiya to skid to a halt.

"Wait, what person?" Naiya asked, daring to turn back around and look behind her. This of course, showed that the monster was hot on her tail, and she yelped.

"Dark Gem Monsters are born from people who have been taken over by Dark Gem Jewelry!" Pearl told her. "Only the Precure have the power to fight them and to save the person buried inside of the monster without hurting them!" She told the young girl.

"But I don't have any of those powers!" Naiya protested, holding out the platypus and giving it a shake. "I'm just a normal seventeen year old high school student! I don't know magic!"

"Use the pendent that I gave you!" Pearl instructed her. "Clasp it between your hands and shout out 'Precure! Sparkle and Shine!'"

"What like seriously, ah shit it's almost here!" She hissed, eyes bulging as she turned tail and started to run away again. "And that thing's huge, in case you haven't noticed! What can this pendent possibly do that will help me fight that damn thing!?"

"You'll understand when you do it! Or do you just plan on running away from this thing all the way across town!?" Pearl shouted at her, clearly growing a little bit frustrated.

"Alright _fine_!" Naiya skidded to a stop, setting Pearl down next to her, and grabbed the pendent in between her hands. Facing down the rampaging faux snake monster that was closing in on them once more, she took in a deep breath, closing her eyes, before letting it out.

"Precure!" She called out, her eyes snapping open as white energy began to build around her. "Sparkle and Shine!" She yelled towards the sky, the clouds above her breaking apart to let down a beam of white light, which engulfed her body, and momentarily blinded Pearl and the monster alike.

After a moment, the light faded away, leaving what at first appeared to be a new person in Naiya's place. She had snow white hair, which was worn in a 'crown' of looped buns on the top of her head, from which four thin ponytails hung down, reaching her knees. Her eyes were pink rose, which matched the bow in the center of her chest, with diamond encased in an oval brooch in the center. This motif was mirrored in a pink rose sash she wore around her waist, which slanted downwards towards her left, and tied off into a bow with longer tails. A similar oval brooch with a diamond center was fixed to the lowest part of the sash, just before the bow.

She wore a white, high necked dress, with sleeves cut off so that they hung low and showed her shoulders. The sleeves were cut in a petal shape, and in addition to them, she wore white cloth bracers on her wrists and lower arms. The white dress split away after the sash, to reveal a pink rose pleated miniskirt, though the white dress continued to cover her behind, and hung down as if it were a cape over the back of her legs. She wore pink rose tights, and a pair of white high heel shoes, with six straps going up her legs.

And then she kind of gawked, looking over her hands and the outfit she was wearing, turning around once. "What the hell's this!?" She said, looking rather flustered.

"You should already know!" Pearl told her, eyes bright and excited at the sight before her. Finally, she had found what she had been looking for, one of the legendary Precure! With this, she could begin to accomplish the mission her princess sent her on in the first place. "Just bring forth the words from my heart!"

"My heart...?" She blinked, before seeming to come to some sort of realization. Taking in and letting out another deep breath, she turned, once more to stare down the faux snake monster, gathering her courage. The monster had frozen for a moment, as if it could not process the sight in front of it.

"A sparkling promise of the future!" She spoke clearly, her words ringing out in the air. "Cure Diamond, Shine On!"

* * *

More information, and character references if anyone wants them can be found on the fancure wiki, if anyone needs it, just drop me a line because you know and links.


	2. The First Battle! My Destiny is Precure?

Author's Note: Well after considerable delay, here is the next chapter or episode or whatever! I guess there's a canon Cure Diamond now but oh well, not changing it anyways. They're pretty much as different as they can get and are themed around two different diamonds so I don't think it's really all that big of a deal. Also, my new cover image was drawn for me by **Krismoth**, my good friend, who has a fanseries up here, _Bukatsudo Energetic_, I believe, that you all should go and read because it's great! And she is also great.

Precure is not mine, although all characters and concepts by the large in this story do belong to me.

* * *

**Sparkle Precure**

Episode Two

The First Battle! My Destiny is Pretty Cure?

* * *

"A sparkling promise of the future! Cure Diamond, Shine On!"

"Wait even if I say that, what's with this fluttery clothing?" Diamond asked, picking up the edges of the split dress, making a face as if she couldn't figure out whether or not this was something that she liked. "Isn't this a bit hard to move in?"

"Is this _really _the right time to question the sacred garments of a Precure?" Pearl retorted, eyes sliding over towards Cure Diamond. "In case the light show made you forget,_ giant monster._" She pointed out, mustering up a surprising amount of sarcasm for having such a high pitched voice.

"Ah, yeah." Diamond blinked, turning her attention back towards the giant snake monster, which let out a roar upon breaking out of the trance the girl's sudden and unexpected transformation had suddenly put it in. It was faint, but she could just barely make out the sound of a human voice screaming along with it, and it sent a small shiver down her spine. "Is there really a human in there?"

"Yes! That's how they make the Dark Gem Monsters." Pearl told her, narrowing her eyes. "They latch one of their wicked pieces of Dark Gem Jewelry onto an unsuspecting human, and it feeds on their love, turning it into hate. When it gathers enough, it explodes and turns them into a monster! Ah, by the way, it's coming."

"What a rude snake monster, doesn't it know that I'm in the middle of getting exposition?" Diamond huffed in spite of herself, as the beast roared again, charging towards her and Pearl. Snatching up Pearl again, Diamond leaped up into the air, her now pink eyes going wide as she found herself soaring above the rooftops, the snake monster crashing it's head down where she had just been moments ago, creating a rather impressive crater.

"Okay, so super jumping powers." Diamond observed, landing back on the ground, sliding backwards from sheer momentum. She quickly went on guard again, eyes narrowing as the snake monster shook out it's head, turning it's gaze back towards her. "What else can I do Pearl, and you better talk fast, cause I don't think this thing has a whole lot of patience."

"It doesn't seem to like you much, no." Pearl observed dryly. "Can't imagine why _that _would be the case."

"I take it you're still a bit mad about being called a figment of my imagination." Diamond observed. "You can't exactly blame me. You're a white, talking platypus that came down from the sky. Generally speaking, things like that don't happen in real life. Ah." Her eyes went wide, the snake monster charging again, and she jumped up again, avoiding it smashing down once more.

"Well, they do where I come from." Pearl observed, frowning a little- or so it seemed that way, at least. Admittedly, it was a bit hard to read the face of a platypus. "You need to attack it! In order to destroy it, you need to find the Dark Gem Core!"

"Dark Gem Core?" Diamond inquired, landing on a nearby telephone pole, watching as the snake monster shook off the blow to the head it had given itself. "At least it's a rather _direct _monster."

"The Dark Gem Core is what powers the monster. If you destroy it, you'll purify the human that's inside! But you need to weaken it first." Pearl informed her, yelping a little as the increasingly frustrated snake monster spun around, swishing out with it's tail, aiming to knock Diamond off the telephone pole that she was standing on top of.

She jumped off of it, flipping in the air behind the snake monster, but this time, her eyes caught sight of something. "Ah, there!" She called out, pointing a hand at the figure that seemed to be embedded in a lower part of the snake's body. Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to make the person out, as she was sure that she knew them. "Ah, is that Takahashi?"

"You know her?" Pearl asked, glancing up at Diamond as she landed behind the snake monster, and was set aside.

"Yeah, a little. She gets along real well with Girly Boy." Diamond snarled a little, her lips twisting in a frown. "Although this would explain why the monster doesn't like me a whole lot if Takahashi's feelings are influencing it."

"You shouldn't worry about harming her, as long as you don't attack her directly, she should be fine!" Pearl chirped, although she skittered away a little as the snake monster turned around, now facing Diamond again.

"Ah, that's a bit boring." Diamond said, frowning a little. She gave a rather fearsome grin then, cracking her knuckles. "But, it'll have to do! I've got some issues with Takahashi myself, you see!"

"Exactly _how _is it that you were one of the ones chosen to be a Precure again?" Pearl asked. "And here I thought they were all supposed to be kind and pure hearted."

"Hey, I transformed, didn't I?" Diamond pouted. "Besides, you're the one who told me I was a Precure or whatever in the first place. And I'll have you know," she said, gritting her teeth as the snake monster lashed out with it's tail again, intending to crush the white and pink Precure underneath it's weight. However, she crossed her arms in front of her head, heels digging into the pavement as it struck it's tail down, blocking the blow. "I'm plenty pure hearted! After all, I'm a dainty maiden!"

"And this dainty maiden is going to take any chance she can get," She gritted her teeth, grunting a little underneath the weight of the snake's tail, which was surprisingly heavy for something that looked like it was made out of a sports towel, quickly removing her arms from the cross and grabbing it's tail. "...to express her frustrations at an unfair love rival!" She shouted, grunting again as she grabbed the snake by the tail, swinging into some nearby telephone poles.

The beast let out a pained yelp, and Diamond grinned to herself, pumping a fist in excitement. "Yes, that felt good, very good. I'll teach that damn Takahashi to woo the guy I like!" She said, then quickly flushed a little red. "I-I mean, I'll purge her out of the monster or something, whatever there's no one here but a talking platypus."

"You still need to find where the Dark Gem Core is, otherwise you can't defeat it!" Pearl told her, apparently not happy about that comment. "You need save this Takahashi girl, otherwise she'll become consumed by her own hatred and fall into darkness forever. She won't be able to love anyone anymore!"

"Ah, that sounds pretty terrible." Diamond admitted. "I wouldn't want that to happen, I guess. Ah, hey, but is there a way to just see to it that she loses her ability to love people romantically because..." She began, then flinched a little at Pearl's harsh gaze- that was one hell of a look for a little semi-aquatic mammal! "Right, got you. Dark Gem Core. Any way of going about finding that? Do I have a sense for it or something? Can I fire beams from my hands?"

"Probably not beams, and I don't know if you can sense it. Someone like you might not be able to." Pearl informed her. "It's recovering at any rate. You should be able to summon a weapon, though!"

"Weapon?" Diamond asked, eyes narrowing. What kind of weapon would that be? The fluttery outfit she was wearing made her think of the magical girls she used to watch as a child on television- some kind of rod or wand or something? "Don't tell me, it's another thing that I should already know what it is in my heart." She observed dryly. "What is that even supposed to _mean _anyways?"

"Is this really the time for those sorts of questions?" Pearl shot back. "Hurry up and summon it! You'll be able to use it to defeat the monster!"

"So what you're saying is, the Dark Gem Core isn't something I can break by punching it?" Diamond asked, frowning a little. "Ah, whoops, wasted too much time on banter!" She observed, the snake monster letting out a roar and lunging towards her. She jumped backwards, the beast flying into a nearby store, crashing through the door. The people hiding inside scattered out of the way, and the snake monster burst out the opposite wall, shaking off the force of the impact and turning to look rather menacingly at Diamond.

"I sure hope they've got giant monster insurance." Diamond cringed. She narrowed her eyes then, taking in and letting out a deep breath. Pearl said that the knowledge to summon her weapon was in her heart, and as silly as that sounded, she thought that much like her introduction, she could already feel it. Holding out her hands in front of her, as if she was grasping the hilt of a sword, she called out in a sharp, clear voice.

"Diamond Sword!" In a shimmer of white light, an orb of energy appeared in her hands, forming the shape of a hilt, which solidified and turned into a silver color, a gleaming four pointed star shaped diamond set in the hilt of the sword. White light gleamed at the tip of the hilt, forming a blade, which when the light faded, proved to be made out of solid diamond, and gleamed in the sunlight.

"Hm, not bad." Diamond blinked, holding it up with one hand, giving it a good look. She didn't have long to marvel, however, as the snake monster had pulled the rest of it's body through the building it had smashed through, letting out a powerful roar, Takahashi's voice letting out a scream intermingled with the sound. The snake slinked around the building at a rather alarming speed, charging towards Diamond. She grunted, instinctively lifting up the sword, turning it so that the flat side of it blocked the oncoming charge.

The snake roared at her as it tried to continue to push forward, a sound that vibrated in her ears this close, causing her to wince. It caused Diamond to slide backwards against the pavement, pushing her back this time through it's sheer force and size. Clenching her teeth, Diamond tried to steady her footing, in order to shove it back, the two of them creating a quick stalemate with the other.

It did allow Diamond, however, to spy a glimmering silver white color, deep within one of the snake's eyes. She had a hunch that was her core, even though Pearl hadn't described it to her. Gritting her teeth, Diamond let out a grunt, summoning up all of her strength to shove the snake backwards, breaking the stalemate. She quickly created some distance between them as she did so, jumping onto the top of another telephone pole, holding the sword in her hands. It had cracked a little underneath the sheer weight, but it appeared to be quickly regenerating itself.

Gripping the sword in both of her hands, Diamond glared down at the snake, who let out another loud shriek. Her ears were still ringing from hearing it up close, but she drowned out the sound, concentrating on the eye in which she had seen the shining core. Narrowing her eyes, she found the right words coming to her unbidden, and she lifted up the Diamond Sword, sunlight gleaming off the top of the blade, before she brought it downwards.

"Precure!" She called out, forming a glimmering star created out of pale pink energy in the air. "Shining Strike!" She screamed out, spinning the sword around the energy star, before she slashed down through it, creating a rippling effect and causing the energy to burst out wards. It flew in arcs towards the Dark Gem Monster, aiming at the hidden, glimmering core in it's eye, striking it true. Diamond could hear a cracking sound from within it, before it all at once exploded in a burst of light.

For a moment, Takahashi hovered there in the air, and Diamond recalled her sword, quickly hurrying to catch the girl before she hit the ground. She appeared to be out cold, a few bruises visible on her arms, likely from when the snake had burst through the storefront earlier. They seemed to vanish in a white light though, leaving the girl unharmed. As much as she didn't like the idea of her making moves on Hirata, and as much as she didn't like her, she still honestly didn't want to see Takahashi get hurt. It wasn't exactly like she had done anything to deserve it, after all.

"Oh, it looks like you have a soft side to you after all." Pearl remarked, coming out of hiding. Diamond's eyes narrowed at this, and she promptly dropped the unconscious girl on her butt. "Or perhaps I spoke too soon. Still, I would have thought you would have just let her drop to the ground, given your earlier little outburst about her being an unfair love rival. You have someone you like?"

"My personal life is none of your business." Diamond remarked, dusting off her hands. "Besides, she could have used head trauma as an excuse to get closer to Girly Boy. Can't be having that."

"Oh yes, I forgot how romantic it was to have head trauma." Pearl quipped back, rolling her eyes. "We should leave here, now that the monster's gone. But first," the platypus said, walking over and picking up a gleaming gemstone in her mouth, delivering it back to Diamond, who took it from her with a small frown. "We need to take this with us too."

"A gemstone?" Diamond asked, scooping up the tiny creature as well, tucking Pearl under one arm as she peered into the gemstone. There seemed to be a hint of something dark underneath the surface. "Is this the Core? Looks smaller."

"It's a corrupted moonstone." Pearl told her. "We need to get to someplace out of the way first, and I'll tell you everything I know there. Also because you caused a fair amount of collateral damage and that police officer coming out of the police box there is looking pretty grumpy with you."

"Ah yes, the fine policemen of Shiroyama City, cowering within a police box while we're attacked by a giant monster. _That's_ encouraging." Diamond said, before she followed up on Pearl's advice, jumping up on top of one of the nearby stores and running along the rooftops. "Still, this form is pretty convenient. What did you call this again anyways?"

"A Precure." Pearl repeated. "I only said it like _five _times. A Precure is a legendary warrior, a title that has been passed down in my world for generations. But there's a threat rising in your world now, so the need to bring the Precure here arose. I'll explain more later. Do you know of a private place here?"

"I know of many!" Diamond said. "Sometimes I like to go to them and punch things."

"I'm seriously reconsidering having scouted you as a Precure, I hope you know." Pearl said.

"Too late, you gave me magical powers, and I'm not interested in having them taken away from me." Diamond told her, grinning a little. She jumped down behind an ally, and after a moment's thought, she found that in a flash of light, she returned back to being normal Naiya. The sensation of returning to normal was a bit sad, but she could move around easier like this, and she would stand out a lot less. "Come on, we can talk at school."

* * *

It wasn't until they had gotten in the school building that Naiya realized that there might be something a bit strange about bringing a platypus in with her, but to her surprise, nobody paid Pearl any mind. Everyone was chattering away, they had heard about the monster attack already- although it didn't seem that the knew that Takahashi had been involved. After narrowly dodging her homeroom teacher, Naiya made it to the roof, double checking to make sure that it was vacant before she shut the door behind her, finally setting Pearl down.

"Now then. You promise some explanations." She told her, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I hope you plan to fulfill that promise."

"Of course!" Pearl chirped. "But first, do you still have the moonstone that I gave you?" Pearl asked her.

"Ah, yeah." Naiya said, fishing it from her skirt pocket, and crouching down in front of Pearl. "You mean this, right? I haven't really ever seen a moonstone before, but I don't think it's supposed to have this black spot inside of it."

"It's not. That's the Corruption inside of it. Garnet puts it inside the stone to turn it into a Dark Gem. You and I can see it because we are connected to magic, but normal humans can't." Pearl told her. "Wait just a moment."

Pearl closed her eyes, her body shimmering with a white light, which shone outwards, flowing off her body until it formed an object in front of her. It was a box, a little smaller than Pearl's height, white with a pattern of the moon and stars engraved on the top of it. Opening her eyes, Pearl looked up at Naiya. "This is the Precure Charm Box. Please place the moonstone inside. While it's in there, it'll be purified of it's Corruption, and return to being a normal gemstone."

"I see." Naiya blinked, opening the box up and sticking the moonstone inside. The box glowed a little as the gemstone was placed within it. "Well, that takes care of that then. Now then, what's going on here? What are these Dark Gem Stones or whatever, and why are people being turned into monsters?"

"It's all because of the Loveless." Pearl told Naiya, seeming to frown deeply. "They're lead by a man named Garnet, and he's served by a right hand woman named Moonstone. I think there's one other member, but I wasn't able to gather any intelligence on her. I don't know where they came from, but their goal seems to be to wipe out all the love in the world, and replace it with hatred. I don't know what their motive is either, but Garnet is the one in charge of spreading the Corruption through the Dark Gem Jewelry, which Moonstone and the second member then give to humans."

"And then it absorbs their love?" Naiya asked, plopping down and taking a seat, crossing her legs. "And that's how the monsters are born."

"Right, exactly." Pearl said. "The monsters are born when all of their love is absorbed and turned into hate. When you purify a monster, you reverse that effect, so Takahashi should be fine. Sadly, I'm not sure I can say the same for that shopping district- you should be a little more careful about collateral damage in the future, Naiya."

"Well, you could have mentioned that before." Naiya rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I assumed it would all go back to normal. Magic and shit you, know?"

"Yeah well, sadly it doesn't work that way. If I had my full magical power, I could do something about that, but I don't." Pearl told her. "That's why I'm stuck in this form now. But what's important for you to know, Naiya, is that you're not alone, and that you can't go it alone either. There are seven other Precure that we need to find."

"Seven?" Naiya asked, quirking a brow. "That sure is a _lot _of super powered girls. How are we supposed to find them? And are you sure that we need to? I don't know if you've noticed this, but my people skills aren't exactly... very good." She frowned a little, looking away.

"Yes, that much I _have _noticed." Pearl said, looking rather unamused. "But you should take this as a chance to improve yourself, Naiya. Besides, you can't fight the Loveless alone. That monster was one thing, but now that they now that there's a Precure around, they'll surely start to step up their game and strengthen their monsters. If you have more teammates, then you can fight against them better and your odds of winning will increase."

"So they know about the Precure?" Naiya asked, frowning.

"I believe that they do. Garnet at least, I am sure knows." Pearl told her. "I sensed Moonstone there at the battle, but she chose not to interfere. Likely Garnet assumed one of you would appear soon enough, and ordered her to observe. But for your first battle, I think you did very well, Naiya! As much as I said otherwise, you seem to be a strong Precure, at least."

"But we still need to find the other members, huh?" Naiya asked.

"Yes." Pearl said. "I can help you find them, but I'll only be able to sense them if I'm close. I will search for them and search for people who are holding Dark Gem Jewelry as well. Hopefully, I should find the second member very soon." She told her. "It's likely that Garnet and Moonstone will be looking for the rest of the members themselves, in order to take care of them before we can awaken their powers and have them join us. We can't let that happen."

"Take care of? Like kill?" Naiya asked, grimacing a little. "Yeah, we can't let that happen sure enough."

"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of that they might turn them into monsters or allies, but they could do that too, I suppose. I honestly hadn't considered that." Pearl admitted. "I don't know how far they would go to accomplish their goals, but I don't think they would play very nice. Or fair."

"Well, that's perfectly fine, because I play neither nice nor fair myself." Naiya nodded her head, crossing her arms in front of her chest, as if she was dispensing some sage piece of wisdom. "So we've nothing to fear there. If they play dirty, I'll turn around and kick them right back in their shin."

"Well I suppose that's... comforting to know." Pearl frowned a little, looking doubtful of this statement herself. "But we do need to locate them as soon as possible, Naiya. For the moment, I'll give you the Charm Box, and you should hide it somewhere at home where no one can find it. It would be bad if anyone opened it up that wasn't me or a Precure." She told her.

"Right, I'll do that." Naiya said, scooping up the box and sticking it in her bag. "What should I do now?"

"Now? Now you should go to class and be a normal student. Leave the searching to me, since I doubt you would be able to sense your fellow Precure. That's my job." Pearl told her. "I still have enough magic left for that. And in case you're worrying me wandering about would be too conspicuous, you needn't do so. I have enough magic left as well to conceal my appearance. Nobody else but you or the Precure are going to see me as a platypus. They'll probably see me as something more mundane, like a dog or a cat. Possibly a turtle."

"That would explain why nobody said anything about me carrying you around." Naiya noted. "Well, that's convenient at least, I don't want to become known as the weird girl who has a pet platypus. Although, I feel like there's an American cartoon like that..." She frowned a little, trying to recall, before she shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyways, I suppose. Well then, I'm going to head off to class." She said, standing up. "I'm sure I can still make it to first period. We can't be _that _far in yet."

"Ah, but is there anything else I should know before I go?" Naiya asked, peering down at Pearl.

"Just keep a sharp eye out for any suspicious pieces of jewelry." Pearl told her. "You might not be able to sense your fellow Precure, but a piece of Dark Gem Jewelry, I think you could sense. If you find one on someone, try and take it and put it in the Charm Box. Don't try to look like a thief about it though, we don't want that complication."

"Duly noted. I don't want to get a reputation as a petty thief either. Gods above know that I don't need the help in trashing my reputation." She remarked, rolling her eyes. "Then I suppose you'll be using my room as a base of operations?"

"For the moment, yes. Unless you had a better idea...?" Pearl ventured.

"Can't say that I do." Naiya shook her head. "Alright then, keep an eye out for suspicious jewels, don't let anyone else open the box. Gotcha, Pearl. I'm out."

Pearl watched her go, before having a sigh, shaking her little head. "Goodness me, I think I've found a difficult one. Hopefully I can find some of the other members soon, I'm not sure I like the idea of leaving _this _Precure by herself."

* * *

"I take it that your appearance here with no Core means that you've failed."

The man's dry voice came from the darkness, where he lounged lazily on what appeared to be a stone throne, not looking at all pleased with the results of today's attempt at harvesting a Dark Gem Core. He cast his red eyes on the kneeling girl before him, his right eye having a strange ring of black in the pupil, which seemed to shift as he turned his gaze on Moonstone. His dark red hair was pulled into a rather sloppy ponytail, barely hanging past his shoulders, and his face seemed to be locked into an expression of being very unamused. He appeared rather young, barely into his twenties, much like the one who was kneeling at his feet.

"I'm very sorry." Moonstone told him, looking up at the man. Silver gray hair fell over her shoulders as she shifted, and her pale blue eyes were filled with regret. She was an elegant looking woman, with her straight hair ending at her rear, and was clad in an elegant gown of a silver blue color. But there was something not quite right about her elegance, something about it that seemed strange. "But one has appeared. You ordered me to only observe should one do so."

"A Precure, then?" Garnet asked, glancing down at his servant. The woman slowly nodded her head, and the man smirked a little. "Ah, so it is just as it was said, then. Well, it's no matter. One Precure is weak, and we can crush her without a care. Continue on with your plans, Moonstone, and take care to seek out the other Precure. Perhaps we can find her partners before her." He said, dancing a small piece of Garnet between his fingers as he spoke.

With a wicked grin, black energy seeped into the Garnet, and it gave of a faint pulse before it settled down, now resting in the palm of the young man's hand. "And we can crush them. Or turn them. Whichever is best. Use your own judgement, Moonstone, and serve me well. That's what you exist for, correct?"

"Yes, my lord." Moonstone bowed her head. "I will do anything that you command. I am faithfully your servant, until the end of time." She told him.

"Good. That's what I thought." Garnet smirked, tossing the garnet towards her, which she caught in her pale hands. "Add that to the merchandise. Find a nice place to sell it. There's an all girls school in Shiroyama, isn't there? Try that place- seems like there would be a lot of love struck little girls that you can sway into darkness there." He told her. "After all, there's nothing more powerful than a young girl in love, or so they say. And what better way to use that than to take all that love, and turn it into hate?"

"No better way, my lord." Moonstone shook her head, grasping the garnet in her hands, a look of almost regret passing through the young woman's eyes as she held onto it. "I will do as you command." She told him, standing up. "I will see to it that all your wishes are met, Lord Garnet."

With a swift bow, Moonstone exited the room, leaving Garnet to himself. He watched her go, a small frown on his lips. Oh, she would do as he commanded, but he still needed to keep an eye on her. She hadn't as of yet entirely cast away her human heart- but she would, and she would do it soon. She loved him too much to ever abandon him, and he intended to make full use of that.

"Now then," the young man said, getting to his feet. "Precure, huh? She called herself Cure Diamond." He grinned a little, shaking his head. "How fitting that the symbol of marriage would appear first. All the better to start destroying those pests with. Well, for now I'll see how Moonstone works, but in the future, we'll see if you are needed." He said, turning his attention to the third person who had been in the room, standing behind his throne.

"I will eagerly await that time, my Lord. But hopefully, Moonstone will prove useful enough that it never comes." The woman said, but there was something in the gleam of her wicked smile that told him that she fully expected her to fail. "Until then, I will await your command."

"Excellent." Garnet grinned. "It won't be much longer now. The humans should enjoy their ability to love while they can. They won't have it for much longer, after all. Don't you think that would be a perfect world?" He asked, glancing back towards the other woman.

"I couldn't agree more." She said simply, smiling at him. "It sounds like a wonderful place."


End file.
